“At your right hand stands the queen.” (Psalm 45:9)
Psalm 45 mentions the king’s daughters, honorable women, and a queen “adorned in gold from Ophir.” At first glance, one might conclude that this passage of Scripture, particularly the queen (consort, “shegal”, in the original Hebrew), is somehow related to God. The question then becomes, “Does God have a queen?” But first, we must discern who the king is.
In verse one, the psalmist (likely a musical director) says his “heart is moved” as he recites his verses to the king. The king of Israel at the time of the psalm’s writing is unknown, but some believe it was either King David or King Solomon. However, there are many reasons Psalm 45 does not refer to them, which we do not have room to discuss here. Nevertheless, verses 1-5 appear to address a human king.
The subject of the psalm then seems to change in verse six.
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.” (v6)
“Therefore God, your God, has anointed you.” (v7)
Based on these two verses, some have speculated that the king might refer to God in general or prophetically to the coming Messiah, that is, Jesus as recorded in the New Testament gospels. If so, conclusions about the queen range from her being a representation of the church, the future New Jerusalem (Rev 20:1), or even the Virgin Mary.
Or can it refer to someone else?
The Queen of Heaven?
The mention of a queen is not limited to the psalmist. The book of Jeremiah mentions a queen twice, both times as the “queen of heaven.” In Jeremiah 7:18, the prophet describes the children gathering wood, the men using it to build an altar, and the women busily kneading dough and making cakes for “the queen of heaven.”
Jeremiah 44:17 later records the people’s response to God following their lack of repentance.
“We will burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets.”
The “queen of heaven” in Jeremiah directly refers to a pagan goddess named Ashtoreth, who was thought to be married to Baal (the same one Elijah famously disproved in 1 Kings 18). Many women highly desired children in Jeremiah’s time, leading them to worship Ashtoreth because of her so-called fertility power. Consequently, her fame spread across many pagan communities, even among the Israelites.
Though God promised great consequences for worshiping Ashtoreth, the women stubbornly and (more likely fearfully) refused to give her up. They even attributed peace and prosperity to her, putting her on plane with God. As a result, many began concluding that Ashtoreth was the queen of heaven, ruling alongside Yahweh, Father God (a type of syncretism, the blending of two religions). Some might take this idea one step farther and connect her with the Messiah, making her His bride. Both ideas are clearly unbiblical and if not outright blasphemous.
What is known is that the queen in Psalm 45 has nothing to do with pagan worship. She is unrelated to Ashtoreth in every way. She also has nothing to do with Jesus’ mother, Mary, King David or Solomon, or a city. Here, the psalmist refers to the church. How do we know?
Look at the notation at the beginning of the psalm. It says, “Set to The Lilies” and “A Song of Love.” Taken together with verses 10-15, the indication is that the psalm (usually a song) is a wedding song. Since Psalm 45 cannot refer to either King David or Solomon, the conclusion is that the bridegroom king must be Jesus. Notable Old Testament scholar Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. provides four reasons why this is true.
- The king is a divine ruler. “O God,”
- The king has an eternal kingdom. “Your throne…is forever and ever.”
- The king is a righteous ruler. “A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom.”
- The king is divinely anointed. “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you.”
According to Scripture, King Jesus has only one bride—the church. Therefore, the queen symbolizes all devoted believers throughout time.
The Lamb’s Marriage Supper
In addition to Psalm 45, evidence for the church being the queen is found in Revelation 19, which describes the coming wedding supper of the Lamb.
“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints…Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!” (Rev 19:7-9)
Further evidence of the Lamb’s marriage and His wedding supper is found in the book of Isaiah.
“On this mountain, the LORD of Armies will prepare for all the peoples a feast of choice meat, a feast with aged wine, prime cuts of choice meat.” (Is 25:5)
“Indeed, your husband is your Maker—His name is the LORD of Armies, and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer.” (Is 54:5)
Psalm 45 is a song of tribute not to an earthly king but to the Messiah Jesus, the King of all kings. It is also a song of love to celebrate His prophetic royal wedding to His beautiful bride, the church, and to the children they will bear who will exalt the Lord’s name forever and ever (v16).
“I will cause Your name to be remembered for all generations. Therefore, the peoples will praise You forever and ever.” (Ps 45:16)
